Alessandra Ricci
DO ECO LABELS INFLUENCE CONSUMERS?
A comparison of Finnish and Italian consumers’ response to organic labels
Master’s Programme in International business
VAASA 2019
TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE
1. INTRODUCTION 7
1.1. Background of the study 7
1.2. Research problem and research question 9
1.3. Delimitations 12
1.4. Key concepts of the study 14
1.5. Previous studies 16
1.6. Structure of the study 20
2. ECO LABELS AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION 22
2.1. Eco labels and green marketing 22
2.1.1. Eco labels meaning, functionality and objectives 23
2.1.2. Eco labels types 24
2.1.3. The role of eco labels in sustainable food consumption 28
2.2. Sustainable food consumption 30
2.2.1. Organic farming in Europe 31
2.2.2. Organic consumption in Finland 33
2.2.3. Organic consumption in Italy 35
3. CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTION AND BEHAVIOUR 37
3.1. The influence of eco labels on consumers’ behaviour 37
3.2. Factors affecting consumers’ perception of eco labels 38
3.3. Summary of the theoretical framework 46
4. METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY 50
4.1. Research philosophy and research approach 50
4.2. Research method and design 52
4.3. Questionnaire design 53
4.4. Data collection and sample 54
4.4.1. Pilot test 55
4.5. Operationalization of the variables 56
4.6. Data analysis 58
4.7. Validity and reliability of the research 58
5. ANALYSIS OF THE EMPIRICAL FINDINGS 62
5.1. Data processing 62
5.2. Descriptive statistics 62
5.3. Empirical analysis of the demographic characteristics 65
5.4. Empirical testing of factors influencing consumers’ perception and behaviour 76
6. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 84
6.1. Summary of the findings 84
6.2. Managerial implications 89
6.3. Limitations and future research 90
LIST OF REFERENCES 91
Appendix 1. Italian questionnaire 98
Appendix 2. English questionnaire 100
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Structure of the study 21
Figure 2. Environmental product label 25
Figure 3. European organic label 26
Figure 4. Leppäkerttumerkki – Ladybird label 27
Figure 5. Organic Sun Sign logo 27
Figure 6. Interaction of key factors of environmental labelling 29
Figure 7.Dynamic loop created by eco labels 30
Figure 8. Organic sales in Finland 34
Figure 9. Organic sales in Italy 36
Figure 10. Effectiveness of Labelling Scheme 38
Figure 11. Proposed research model 48
Figure 12. Revised conceptual model 83
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Previous studies on eco labels 16
Table 2. Hypotheses of the study 49
Table 3. Five-points Likert scale 54
Table 4. Operationalization of the independent variables 56
Table 5.Reliability test 61
Table 6. Frequencies distribution of the sample 63
Table 7. Independent sample T-test 66
Table 8. One-Way ANOVA based on age for Finnish sample 68
Table 9. One-Way ANOVA based on age for Italian sample 69
Table 10. One-Way ANOVA based on education for Finnish sample 70
Table 11. One-Way ANOVA based on education for Italian sample 72
Table 12. One-Way ANOVA based on occupation for Finnish sample 73
Table 13. One-Way ANOVA based on occupation for Italian sample 75
Table 14. Pearson’s Bivariate Correlation results 77
Table 15. Regression analysis on consumers’ perception of the Italian sample 79
Table 16. Regression analysis on consumers’ purchasing behaviour of the Italian sample 79
Table 17. Regression analysis on consumers’ perception of the Finnish sample 81
Table 18. Regression analysis on consumers’ purchasing behaviour of Finnish sample 81
Table 19. Findings of the study 85
____________________________________________________________________
UNIVERSITY OF VAASA
School of marketing and communication
Author: Alessandra Ricci
Topic of the thesis: Do Eco labels influence consumers? A comparison of Finnish and Italian consumers’
response to organic labels.
Degree: Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration
Master’s Programme: International Business Name of the Supervisor: Jorma Larimo
Year of entering the University: 2017 Year of completing the thesis: 2019 Number of pages: 102
______________________________________________________________________
ABSTRACT:
The overconsumption worldwide has caused harms to the environment and its natural resources, creating critical problems to which modern consumers respond in a more sensible way rethinking about their habits and behaviours. Most of the people that express a high concern for environmental issues, channel them towards green purchases, such as organic food. The increased environmental awareness has brought many changes among European consumers and over the past decades there has been a shift in the way consumers think and act towards organic and eco labelled products. Despite the increasing number of eco labels available for consumer nowadays, there are still doubts about how well the labels are understood, perceived and used by consumers.
The main goal of this study is to analyse consumers’ perception of organic labels through different factors and investigate whether a positive perception of the label would lead the consumer to buy organic products. The factors chosen as drivers of consumers’ perception are consumers awareness, consumers knowledge, consumers trust, the clarity of the label, the persuasiveness and the private benefits connected with the label. The study focuses on consumers in two European countries, Finland and Italy, both pertaining to the same economical area but with differences in culture and traditions.
Based on the review of previous literature and empirical studies on the topic of eco labels and their influence on consumers, seven hypotheses were developed on the relationship between the chosen factors and consumers’ perception of organic labels. Additionally, to test the actual purchase behaviour of consumers, consumers’ perception was tested as a predictor of green purchasing behaviour. The findings of the study show that there are substantial differences among Finnish and Italian consumers. Differences were found related to age, gender, occupation and educational level. Eventually the study proves that there is a positive influence of consumers’ perception of organic labels and consumers purchasing behaviour.
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Key words: Eco labels, Green marketing, Organic Label, Consumers’ perception, Finnish consumers, Italian consumers, Consumer purchase behaviour.
1. INTRODCUTION
The following chapter will present the topic of this study. First, the background of the research will be introduced leading to a research problem and gap. Then, the research question and the objectives will be presented followed by the definitions of the key concepts according to the literature. Finally, the structure of the study will be presented graphically.
1.1. Background of the study
In the past decades, globalization has advanced on a full speed, increasing also the culture of consumption, resulting both in positive and negative outcomes (Boztepe, 2012).
Without any doubts, globalization has brought people closer, overtaking cultural and economic barriers and increasing the interdependency among markets, creating a general rapid economic growth. However, at the same time, it has created an alarming situation for our planet. The overconsumption worldwide has brought harm to the environment and its natural resources, creating critical problems such as pollution, global warming and acid rains to which modern consumers respond in a more sensible way rethinking about their habits and behaviours. (Cherian & Jacob, 2012)
Multiple issues concerning the health of our planet are looming up year after year, and people worldwide are facing the bitter truth about environmental issues. Both firms and consumers have responsibilities towards the environment, and their actions can either improve or worsen the situation. Indeed, as consumers are directly affected by the over consumption and its negative effects, environmental issues have become a public concern, to which companies, governments and consumers are determined to find a solution. (Polonsky & Rosenberger, 2001; Chen & Chai, 2010)
The increased environmental awareness has brought many changes among European consumers and over the past decades there has been a shift in the way consumers think
and act towards organic and eco labelled products. As pointed out in the Eurobarometer 468 survey (2017), most European consumers think that protecting the environment is very important and they feel that they personally have a role in tackling environment issues. (Eurobarometer, 2017)
Most of the people that express a high concern for environmental issues, channel them towards green purchases, such as organic food (D'Souza, Taghian & Lamb, 2006).
Indeed, the market of green and sustainable products is expanding more and more, strengthened by awareness and the desire of consumers to take active action and protect the environment. (Papadopoulos, Karagouni, Trigkas & Platogianni, 2010).
The organic food market in Europe has grown exponentially during the past decade, reaching in 2016 nearly 33.5 billion of euro in sales of organic products making Europe the second largest organic market after United States. In the time frame 2006-2016 the money spent on organic food per capita has doubled, with an average of 61 euro per person per year (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, 2016). Indeed, the pro- environmental concern of modern consumers has a strong impact on their green buying behaviour because through their purchasing decisions people can reduce their footprint and make a positive difference (Taufique, Siwar, Talib, Sarah & Chamhuri, 2014).
As argued by D'Souza et al. (2006) the majority of consumers create their initial perception about green products available in common stores mostly through the information provided by the product’s label. For this reason, voluntary eco labels are important tools to educate consumers on environmental protection and guide them at the point of purchase making the products more visible on the store’ shelves. Eco labels are one way to promote pro environmental behaviour and their effectiveness as such, is influenced by how well the consumer understand and perceive the information provided by the label. Therefore, companies should use accurately eco and organic labels and provide complete information in order to help consumers identify environmental goods.
The rise of green consumerism is one of the reasons why extensive research has been done on environmental labelling. Although differences in consumption pattern vary among different countries and regions, and even among different generations. As
discussed by Milovanov (2015) the motives of consumers’ behaviour are a very delicate area and consumers themselves find sometimes hard to explain the motives for their choices, thus making the profile of green consumers even harder to identify. Hence is important to establish which factors affect consumer’s perception and understanding of eco labels and how effective eco labels are in guiding consumers in their purchasing decisions. (Taufique, Siwar & Chamhuri, 2016).
1.2Research problem and research question
Eco labels work like a certification that hint customers about the environmental attribute of the product while reassuring the trustworthiness of the green claims. Despite the increasing number of eco labels available for consumer nowadays, there are still doubts about how well the labels are understood, interpreted and used by consumers. (Atkinson
& Rosenthal, 2014) As argued by Thøgersen, Haugaard & Olesen (2010) there are different eco labels schemes which differ widely in how consumers adopt them, or even in how well consumers know their meaning (Thøgersen et al. 2010).
According to Delmas (2010), in a survey carried out in 2009 about organic coffee, only 20 percent of the consumers interviewed could understand the difference among organic labelled coffee and conventional brands, and even a lower percentage had knowledge of the different eco label schemes including Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade and UTZ certification (Delmas, 2010). Thus, in order to reach the full potential of eco labels function, there is a need to clarify how well eco labels are perceived by consumers and how well labels can be effective tools in influencing their purchasing behaviour.
(Taufique et al. 2014; Testa, Iraldo, Vaccari & Ferrari, 2015)
The aim of this study is to get a better understanding how selected factors influence consumers’ perception of organic labels available for food products in two European countries and what role this perception plays in their final decision of purchase. It is important for businesses to understand how consumers react to organic labels in different countries and how these labels influence consumers in choosing green products. As such, this study will consider organic food products that are available in common grocery stores
and will explore the factors affecting consumers’ perception of organic labels and analyse whether a positive perception will influence consumer buying behaviour among Finnish and Italian consumers.
As an outcome of the research purpose, the main research question for this study will be:
“Which factors influence consumers’ perception of organic labels in Finland and Italy and what role perception plays in green purchasing decision?”.
In order to explore the major factors for the evaluation of consumers’ comprehension of organic labels, it is necessary to break down the research question into smaller objectives, which are also necessary for the clarity and structure of the whole paper.
The objectives of the study will be divided in theoretical and empirical goals. The theoretical goals will be:
• To review existing literature, studies and concepts about eco and organic labels and their influence on consumers’ perception and purchasing behaviour.
• To review previous studies and statistics about organic food production and consumption in Europe.
• To develop hypotheses for evaluating consumers’ perception of and reaction to different organic labels among food products based on the review of previous studies.
The empirical objectives will be:
• To investigate how demographical factors such as age, gender, occupation and educational background affect perception and behaviour of consumers in Finland and Italy.
• To analyse quantitative data through a survey concerning perception of and behaviour towards organic labels among food products from Finnish and Italian respondents.
• Develop managerial implications for companies that uses or are planning to use eco labels and particularly organic ones.
As mentioned by D’Souza (2004) and Leire & Thidell (2005), consumers create their first perception of organic products mostly through the label presented on the package and according to how well they perceive the information on it. Nevertheless, other studies have reported that consumers feel confused by the multitude of labels and often complain about the ambiguous and unclear messages on them (D’Souza et al. 2006; Testa et al.
2015; Brecard, 2014). The cases of greenwashing have undermined the trust in green claims and the variety of labels that sometimes create confusion in consumers mind, can be considered the main hurdles for the effectiveness of eco labels.
The increased amount of people who prefer organic food and who are willing to buy environmentally friendly products has created an opportunity for companies that are using eco labels to show their commitment to environmental issues. As firms are affected by the introduction of new trends in the market and changes in the consumption patterns, marketers need to continuously research how to fulfil the new appeals and how these affect consumers behaviour. (Ranbar & Wahid, 2011)
Hence, as the consumers shift in behaviour is affecting firms worldwide, it is important from a marketing perspective to research how European consumers make their choices about organic labelled food products and how informed consumers are. The topic of eco labels and sustainability is a serious issue among political and environmental organizations in Europe and, since eco labels are a tool to improve such problems of sustainability, more research should be done on their influence on buying decision and consumers intrinsic relationship. (D’Souza, Taghian, Lamb & Peretiatko 2007;
Tzilivakis, Green, Warner, McGeevor & Lewis, 2012)
In the academic context, the purpose of this study is to improve the knowledge of eco labels and consumers’ response to them, in particular the connection between consumers’
perception of organic labels and the influence on their buying decisions. Up to date, there are several researches on green marketing and consumer behaviour however not many studies addresses the thematic of consumer’s perception nor organic labels on food products, and even fewer that undertake a cultural comparison on these labels. Hence, this research will focus on the aspects that did not receive much attention in previous literature. Furthermore, most of the researches on eco labels, focus only on one or few of the factors that influence consumers, however this research will look at multiple
influencing factors simultaneously. All the mentioned research choices prove the novelty of the work.
1.3 Key concepts of the study
In this subchapter the main key words and concepts of the study will be explained and clearly defined in order to provide a better understanding of the topic.
Eco labels have many definitions but overall can be defined as certifications of environmental quality of a product or service. Different dictionaries define it as follow:
“Ecolabelling is a voluntary method of environmental performance certification and labelling that is practised around the world. An eco label identifies products or services proven environmentally preferable overall”. (Global ecolabelling network, 2014)
“An official symbol that shows that a product has been designed to do less harm to the environment than similar products”. (Dictionary.cambridge.org, 2019)
“Ecolabelling is the practice of marking products with a distinctive label so that consumers know that their manufacture conforms to recognized environmental standards.” (Oxford Lexico Dictionaries | English, 2019)
Organic labels are considered part of the eco labels group and are applicable mostly for
food and textile products. Organic certifications are awarded to food products that uses the best environmental practices, high standards for animal welfare, protection of biodiversity and preservation of the natural resources. In other words, an organic label certifies to the final consumer that the product was produced without the use of chemicals and pesticides. (Council Regulation No 834/2007)
While the regulations for the practices are commonly agreed thorough Europe, the concept of “organic food” is defined in different ways depending on the country. For instance, in Germany organic food is considered as “alternative” or “produced
alternatively” whereas in Sweden the most used word is “ecological food” in order to emphasize the sustainability feature of organic food. In Italy, the most used word to define this type of environmentally friendly food is indeed “organic”. As a result, throughout the research the term organic food, organic label or eco label will be used. (Thøgersen, 2010) In this study, the terms eco and organic label will be used to indicate the labels that are presented on food products with better environmental performance.
Consumer behaviour is a central topic and among the most researched in marketing studies. Kotler, Keller, Brady, Goodman & Hansen (2012: 244-260) defined it as:
“Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals, groups, and organizations select, buy, use, and dispose of goods, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants. A consumer’s buying behaviour is influenced by cultural, social, and personal factors. Of these, cultural factors exert the broadest and deepest influence.” Kotler et al. (2012: 244-283)
According to Kotler et al. (2012: 259-283) the role of a marketer is to understand the intrinsic mechanisms happening in the consumer’s mind between the input of marketing stimuli processing of it and the final decision of purchase. Among the main psychological processes that influence consumer response is perception.
Consumer perception
“Perception is the process by which we select, organize, and interpret information inputs to create a meaningful picture of the world.” Kotler et al. (2012: 259-283)
The information inputs can also be defined as sensations, which are the response of our sensory receptors to stimulus such as colour, smells, sights, etc. Since there are plenty of stimulus that individuals are exposed to everyday, only a small part of them are truly noticed and processed in our mind. The most important phase of the perceptual process is what each consumer adds to sensations in order to give them a meaning and consequently create perceptions. (Askegarard, Bamossy, Hogg & Solomon, 2016).
Perceptions are very important in marketing because they affect consumer’s behaviour.
Information are processed through human senses and translated into perceptions which indeed can vary from one person to another depending on how the stimuli is perceived by the subject. Perception is the reaction to internal or also called “personal” stimuli and external ones. Indeed, each individual will perceive things differently from others and in turn will respond differently to the same stimuli. Kotler et al. (2012: 259-283)
1.4Delimitations
According to Ottman (1994) “green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising”. As the concept of green marketing is broad and embed several activities it is necessary to narrow it down in order to give the study clear delimitations.
Indeed, this study will focus only on eco labels excluding in this way green advertisement and specific green brands. By leaving other marketing tools and activities out of this study, the research can result limited although focused on the chosen factor. Furthermore, amid the vastity of eco labels available in the market nowadays, this study will narrow down the selection by considering only organic labels that are third party certified and pertain to the ISO I category.
In order to answer the research question and subobjectives, this study will analyse consumers’ perception of organic labels available in the market and whether diverse cultures react differently towards green food purchase. The scope of this study will be to analyse consumers in two different European countries, leaving aside other cultures such as Asian, American and African. Indeed, the two cultures that will be considered, Finnish and Italian, are both pertaining to the same economical area, although with differences in culture and traditions.
Moreover, this paper will study only organic products available on stores leaving outside of the scope green services, such as environmental energy companies and tourism providers. This research will take in consideration only one category of green products, namely food product available in most common stores.
After reviewing the eco labels present in the chosen countries, the result has revealed that Italy does not have a national organic label but uses the European flower, whereas Finland has two organic labels established in the market besides the European one. As a result of the above statement, European flower, the Ladybird label and the Luomu Sun Sign will be the labels considered in the study.
Regarding the type of consumers, the target group will be set on people with age range between 18 and 65, thus including young, middle-age and older consumers. The reason for choosing such wide category lies on several motives: first, middle-age consumers have been reported to be the most sensible to environmental issues as this is threatening the quality of their children life. Nevertheless, young consumer aged between 18 and 29 have also been indicated as a target category in previous studies, since sustainability issues are becoming more and more spoken of nowadays. (Eurobarometer 2017)
Second, as shown in the Eurobarometer 468 survey (2017), consumer awareness of eco labels was found to be higher in the age range 15-24 and 25-39 compared to older generations. Indeed, young and middle age respondent answered more positively to the question “have you seen or heard about the EU ecolabel?” than old consumer aged 55 and over. The same report has shown that the two age categories were also more eager in using eco labels as a guide in their purchasing decisions. Despite this, it is relevant to include older consumer as trends towards organic products are changing and a wider proportion of the population is increasingly becoming aware of them.
Further, previous studies have found that income level is an influencing variable in purchasing behaviour and one of the greatest barriers to green consumerism is indeed the higher price of products (Testa et al., 2015; Dsouza et al., 2007; Atkinson et al. 2014).
Usually older consumers have a higher income than younger people therefore it feels
logical to include them in this study. Accordingly, this study will focus on consumers aged between 18 and 65.
1.5Previous studies
The literature reviewed for this study is collected from electronic databases available at EBSCO, Emerald, SAGE, Wiley and other sources. The studies have been identified using keywords such as green marketing, eco labels, organic logo, consumer’s response, consumer’s green buying behaviour and consumer’s perception. According to the search words, many articles were identified and the most important were reviewed and included as a theoretical base in this study. Below are the summaries of the main articles reviewed and used in this study which are also graphically listed in Table 1.
Table 1. Previous studies on eco labels.
Authors Year Country Key findings
Heiskanen & Timonen 1995 Finland Consumer awareness
Vanninen & Viinikainen 1995 Finland Consumers awareness and knowledge
Leire & Thidell 2005 Nordic countries
Consumers awareness, trust and knowledge although still weak.
D'Souza, Taghian & Lamb 2006 Australia Clarity of the eco label is crucial Perrini, Castaldo, Misani,
& Tencati
2010 Italy Consumer awareness, knowledge and trust.
Delmas 2010 U.S. Consumer awareness and private
benefits Thøgersen, Haugaard &
Olesen
2010 Denmark Consumer awareness, knowledge and involvement in green choices
Taufique, Siwar, Talib, Sarah & Chamhuri;
2014 2019
Malaysia Consumer awareness and involvement, consumer knowledge, consumer trust, design and visibility of the label, credibility of
environmental quality, persuasiveness, information clarity and personal benefits
Atkinson & Rosenthal 2014 U.S. Consumer trust enhanced by third part certified labels, persuasiveness of the eco label.
Testa, Iraldo, Vaccari &
Ferrari
2015 Italy Consumer awareness, knowledge and clarity of the eco label
Heiskanen & Timonen (1995), with their study on Finnish consumers, introduce the topic of consumer knowledge concerning the environmental information reported on different products. The study shows how Finnish consumers are aware of the availability of such green products however they experience still problems to understand the environmental properties of the products and do not regard the information stated on the label as reliable.
The findings of the study bring to light how Finnish consumers, despite being aware of eco label and eco options, still have problems during the decision-making process.
In the same way Vanninen & Viinikainen (1995), in their study introduce the topic of Finnish consumers’ environmental awareness and knowledge of eco labels, focusing on the well-known Nordic Swan label and its influence on purchasing decisions. The study is executed in Mikkeli, where about 75% of the respondents knows the label however price, availability and appearance of the products are all ranked as more important factors for purchasing decisions than environmental friendliness.
Leire & Thidell (2005) in their study focus on perceptions, understanding and use of eco labels among Nordic consumers. Their findings show that local eco labels such as, for instance the Swan label, are well known in the Nordic market and consumers generally perceive the label as trustworthy. However, the authors suggest that the actual knowledge of environmental attribute is still weak, and this lack of knowledge could be the reason why consumers are not motivated in buying greener products.
D’Souza et al. (2006) in their study on the influence of eco labels on consumers, demonstrate that despite the extensive amount of research there are still doubts on how
labels influence consumers. In their research based on an Australian sample of respondents, the authors investigate how different consumers, in terms of their environmental involvement, respond to eco labels. The findings of their study prove that most of the respondents always read labels on the products they are purchasing and are willing to buy eco labelled products despite the higher price. The authors also find a significant link between being satisfied with an eco label and perceiving the label as understandable and clear.
Perrini, Castaldo, Misani, & Tencati (2010), in their study investigates the attitude of Italian consumers towards organic products. The study concerns products sold by mainstreams Italian retailers. The study focuses particularly on the trust that consumers have toward organic labels and organic products. The authors report that awareness and knowledge of organic labels is a prerequisite for consumers to start noticing the labels in the store, however trust is also an important factor for consumer green purchasing behaviour.
Delmas (2010) in her study investigates how organic labels are perceived by consumers and which factors influence their perception. The study was conducted on 400 American respondents and the author has proven how the lack of knowledge and understanding of eco labels leads to a negative perception and reaction towards them. Hence, the perception was more positive on consumers familiar with eco labels. Furthermore, the author has proven that consumers are more likely to have a positive perception of the product carrying an organic label if the label introduce additional benefits for the consumer, such as “tasting better” and “being healthier”.
Thøgersen et al. (2010) in their study on consumer responses to eco labels have shed light on the understanding of consumer’s decision-making process towards eco labels products. The study is executed for the MSC and other organic labels and is based on Danish consumers. The authors suggest that the consumers decision to buy eco labelled products relies mostly on their motivation and on factors such as knowledge and awareness of labels.
Taufique et al. (2014) and in their study examine consumers’ perception of eco labels and how these labels are understood and used in everyday consumers’ life. After reviewing previous studies, the authors have identified the key elements to measure consumers’
perception and understanding of eco labels and tested the factors on Malaysian consumers. The findings of their study show that consumer perception can be measured by eight factors such as consumer awareness, consumer knowledge, consumer trust, design and visibility of the label, credibility of environmental quality, persuasiveness, clarity of information and personal benefits associated with the eco labels. Following this study, another research with similar goals was carried out by Taufique, Polonsky, Vocino
& Siwar (2019), where the authors created a scale of measurement with 27 items to gauge consumers’ perception of eco labels. The aim of the study was to develop an official scale to be used for assessing the 8 dimensions of consumers’ perception identified in the previous study.
Atkinson & Rosenthal (2014) in their study carried out on American university students, examine the influence of the eco label’s source (governmental vs. private), product involvement (high vs. low), and consumer trust in yielding more favourable consumers’
purchasing behaviour. The results show the claims reported on governmental eco labels are more credible and more persuasive than private companies’ labels. Hence the findings support how consumers prefer meaningful claims with persuasive information about the green attribute of the product. Moreover, the study found consumer trust to be a key factor for a positive consumer purchasing behaviour.
Testa et al. (2015) in their study focus on Italian consumers and the effectiveness of eco labels as a marketing tool. The authors suggest that awareness and knowledge of eco labels have a determining role in green purchasing behaviour. Particularly, the higher the consumers’ awareness the bigger the chance that they will buy ecological products. In their study, they emphasize the role of eco labels as a stimulus for green consumption but only if the labels are well designed and give the consumer a clear message.
Several studies undertaken on eco labels have sought to clarify their role in influencing consumer’s purchasing behaviour, however most of the researches done till recent date have studied the phenomena only focusing on one or few dimensions at the time. The
tendency of including only on single dimension of consumers’ intrinsic relationship with eco labels has failed to assess the complexity of consumers decision-making process and how multiple factors interact simultaneously when it comes to human decisions. To date, only the studies carried out by Taufique et al. (2014:2019) have sought to assess the complexity of consumer’s behaviour including several dimensions of consumer’s perception and understanding of eco labels. Because of the authors’ multidimensional scale of measurement, their studies will have a key role in this research and most of the factors will be used in this study to analyse consumers perception of eco label for Finnish and Italian consumers. Nevertheless, the other key studies will also be used as supporting evidence of the chosen factors.
1.6Structure of the study
This study will be divided in different chapters. In the first chapter of the thesis the background of the topic will be provided, explaining the need for the study and the research gap, followed by research question and objectives. The definition of key words and delimitations of the study will also be given in the first chapter.
The second chapter will include an overall review of the literature concerning eco labels and their classification, followed by a description of the organic labels chosen in the study. Lastly, the chapter will introduce the organic food consumption data in Europe and specifically for Finland and Italy.
The third chapter begins with a review of eco labels and their role on sustainable consumption. Following the factors that influence consumers’ perception of eco labels will be presented and the selected elements will then create the hypotheses of this study that will be tested in the empirical part.
The fourth chapter presents the research methods used in this study, followed by the description of the sample, the data collected and the operationalization of the variables of the study. The chapter will conclude with a discussion of validity and reliability.
The fifth chapter starts with the empirical testing and statistical analysis of the hypotheses.
The descriptive statistics of the two population samples will be reviewed. Following an empirical testing of the descriptive will be provided and the chapter will end with the empirical testing of the hypotheses.
The sixth chapter introduce the summary of the findings and its discussion. Following the managerial implication and the limitation of the study will be given. The chapter ends with suggestions for future research. The structure of the study is illustrated in below Figure 1.
Figure 1. Structure of the study.
2. ECO LABELS AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
This chapter aims to conceptualize two key elements in this study: eco/ organic labels and organic food consumption. First, the background information about green marketing will be provided, followed by the definition and functionality of eco labels. The role of eco labels in sustainable consumption will be reviewed and an overview of the selected organic labels will be provided. Second the concepts and data about the organic food production and consumption will be presented with a special focus on Finland and Italy.
2.1 Eco labels and green marketing
Eco labels are one of the green marketing tools that has become a growing element in helping consumers choosing sustainable products. The concept of green marketing was elaborated for the first time in a workshop held by the American Marketing Association in 1975 and it was the first workshop that aimed at understanding the positive and negative aspects of marketing activities on the environment and resources depletion.
(Delafrooz, Taleghani & Nouri, 2014) After several phases and transformation, nowadays green marketing can be defined as more than just promotion of green products but rather as the effort of companies to create, produce, price and promote products that respect the environment and have minimal impact on it. (Polonsky et al., 2001).
According to Peattie (1992), green marketing can be defined as a particular shade of marketing which was born as a response to the increasing concerns for the environment and its implication for human life. Green marketing has an important function in nowadays businesses due to the increasing green consumerism trend in the world.
Notably, there is a growing interest in Europe about sustainability practices using green strategies and eco labels. (Peattie, 1992)
As previously mentioned, green marketing has had different stages and three major phases have been identified for its evolution. The first phase, also known as ecological marketing, was the first period in which firms understood that marketing can have an
impact on the environment, hence it was the first time that marketers focused on environmental problem such as air pollution caused by industries. The second phase, called environmental marketing, introduced for the first time the concept of sustainability and clean technologies among all the sectors, including services. Eventually, in the last phase, which is still an ongoing process, companies started talking more and more about sustainable development. This concept is the outcome of increased public concern for our planet from both consumers and governments. (Delafrooz et al., 2014)
The most common tools used by companies pursuing green marketing strategies are eco labels, eco brands and environmental advertisements. Green marketing tools aims at increasing green consumerism, by informing the customers about the sustainable commitment of the company and persuading them to buy green products. These tools are used to help worldwide consumers to differentiate green products from “normal” ones and enhance their knowledge of environmentally friendly items. (Rahbar & Wahid, 2011).
2.1.1. Eco labels meaning, functionality and objectives
Eco labels are one of the most significant tools for advertising environmentally friendly products to consumers and improve green consumption patterns. Eco labels help to recognize green products among many others allowing in this way green consumers to easily spot the product on the shelf of a store. (Taufique et al., 2014) Eco labels are an effective way to promote green consumerism because they assist consumers in making informed choices. The use of environmental labels in Europe is increasing due to their attractiveness for customers (D'Souza et al., 2006).
Ecolabels provide consumers at the point of purchase, with information regarding the environmental quality of each products, enabling them to choose the products on the base of their environmental characteristics and acceptable green standards. In this way eco labels give the customer relevant information which should improve the transparency of the product and enhance the trust in green claims. As such, eco labelling schemes tries to promote sustainability among consumers, without compromising their freedom of
choice, but rather providing them an easier and quicker access to information that would not otherwise be considered. (Thøgersen et al., 2010)
Furthermore Horne (2009) argues that eco labels can represent an opportunity for companies to increase sales of green products by differentiating them from other conventional items in the store. As the market of green consumers is growing, the new green buyers will appreciate the easiness on recognizing environmentally friendly products as well as a label that enables them to check what the goods are made of. (Horne, 2009)
Although eco label enhance the visibility of green products in stores, their credibility has also been challenged in the past few years with increasing cases of greenwashing (Tzilivakis et al., 2012). Greenwashing is a phenomenon that in the past year has increased among consumers as cases of false green claims have been discovered.
Companies should be careful and not present their products as environmentally friendly when they are not, as they can seriously harm their brand and sales and create scepticism among consumers. (Bukhari, 2011)
2.1.2. Eco labels types
There are two kinds of labels that a product might show: mandatory and voluntary. The latter one has been regulated according to the International Standards Organization (ISO), a worldwide entity which takes care of setting international requirements, guidelines and measurements that can be used to make sure that processes, products and materials meet such requirements and thereafter are ideal for their purpose. (ISO 14024)
The ISO has set the voluntary labels into three different certifications namely ISO Type I, II and III as shown in Figure 2. Apart from these there are other types of labels, so called “hybrid”, which cannot be classified as any of the previous and thus cannot be regulated according to ISO standards. The ISO type I labels enclose multi-products and third party verified schemes that grant the permission to use the specific label on products that meet the requested environmental standards according to their life cycle assessment
(LCA). These assessments are based on the environmental quality of each product, considering for example energy consumption, disposal, emission and water waste. The label can be granted to any product or service provided that the requirements are met. The
“third party” is an agent, person or entity which is recognized as independent body from the parties involved in the processes. (ISO 14024)
Figure 2. Environmental product labels ( Horne, 2009: 177).
The ISO Type II labels are self-declared, single product environmental claim made by the manufacturer of a product or by the company selling it. Indeed, these labels are not verified by third party and for this reason there are several concerns about the trustworthiness of such claims. These labels usually are statement such as “product made from recycled materials” which is a vague and not verified statement that can misleading the consumer at the moment of purchase. Nowadays, with the increased environmental concerns and the cases of greenwashing, most manufacturers are seeking third party awarded labels which provide the customer with more reliable information. (ISO 14024)
The last category, the ISO Type III is a less common label which is product-related only and provide information regarding the quantitative life cycle assessment. This type of label is still under work as the ISO has not yet provided a universal standard for these types. An example of Type III label is a label stating the amount of CO2 emitted by the raw materials that compose the products and hence the environmental friendliness of the products is left for the final consumer to evaluate. (Taufique et al., 2014) Above Figure 2, illustrate the different type of eco labels according to ISO classification. Among the different type of eco labels available in Europe, below are presented the organic labels chosen for this study:
Figure 3. European organic label
European Organic logo: this eco label was established by the European Commission in 2010 as they wanted to provide a general symbol to identify organic food across Europe.
The logo was created as mandatory requirement for all products that are defined as organic. The regulation (EC) No 834/2007 and 889/2008 has established that all the prepacked food and food products in order to comply with the organic norms must show the European organic logo. The symbol aims to provide consumers with an information tool to make informed and trustworthy choices while shopping and meanwhile help farmers to market their products among EU. (European commission: The organic logo, 2019; IFOAM bio, 2019)
The Organic logo has strict requirements and can only be used by producers that have been verified by third party agency. In other words, products that are classified as organics need to fulfil rigid requirements on how they are produced, processed, transported and stored. The products that can be awarded with such label need to contain at least 95% of organic ingredients and have strict controls for the remaining 5% of the ingredients. The organic logo must be displayed on the package together with the code number of the third-
party certifying body and the geographical indication stating where the raw materials have been cultivated or farmed. (European commission: The organic logo, 2019)
Figure 4.Leppäkerttumerkki – Ladybird label
Ladybird label: this eco label is one of the two most known label for organic products in the Finnish market. The aim of this label is to ensure consumers about the genuineness of the products, which must contain at least 75% of organic ingredients and 100% in case of raw single product such as vegetables and fruits. The standards of the ladybird label and certified by a third party and in order to display this logo on products, the companies must engage in strict annual controls and revision of their activities. (Luomuliitto 2018) The ladybird label is applicable to only to Finnish agricultural products, food, seeds and animal feed and is granted to farmers that follow the organic requirements set by the Finnish Organic Products Union. The aim of the union is to reduce the environmental impact of producing and consuming goods and ensure the wellbeing of livestock.
(Luomuliitto 2018)
Figure 5. Organic Sun Sign logo (Luomu valvottua tuotantoa merkki- Aurinkomerkki)
One of the two most know organic food label in Finland is the Luomu Sun Logo which is owned and certified by the Finnish Food Safety Authority. Products carrying this label are a guarantee for consumers that high standards of organic production have been followed during the production and the products are monitored and certified by the Food authority. In order to carry such label, the farmers need to successfully pass annual inspections. (Finnish Food Safety Authority, 2019)
The label can apply also to imported products, if they met the requirements set by Evira and as a matter of fact the logo does not certify the origin of the food but only the environmental characteristics. The sun logo can indeed be applied on imported products and it does not substitute the Eu organic logo which is a mandatory label. (Finnish Food Safety Authority, 2019)
2.1.3 The role of eco labels in sustainable food consumption
Government, industries and consumers have all a role to play when it comes to sustainability issues. Given the status quo of the present environmental situation, there is a great pressure on improving both production and consumption processes. This translate into a push for food industry to evolve their production towards greener practices and on consumers towards more sustainable consumption pattern. The reduced impact of these processes involves a great number of parties in the supply chain, such as producers, processor, packaging phase, distributors, retailers and end users. Hence the reduction of the environmental footprint of food production entails many challenges to outmatch.
(Tzilivakis et al., 2012)
Nevertheless, one of the drivers that helped in this improvement is the product labels, through which the producers are able to provide the end user with information regarding the product’s environmental characteristics. According to Tzilivakis et al. (2012), the model represented in Figure 6 shows an overview of the interaction among consumer, industry and environment and the role that eco labels have in this context. Food labels can influence consumers and the food industry behaviour contributing in this way to create positive changes in the whole supply chain. Industries are both directly and indirectly affected by eco labels, as they need to meet the requested standards to bear the
label and because they are indirectly affected by changes in consumer preferences. These changes in the industry will translate into actual changes in their practice and consequently it is expected to find positive outcomes for the environment. (Tzilivakis, et al. 2012)
In the chain, consumers bear a great importance as they can be the starting point for responsible consumption and changes. Eventually, the environmental impact of the products will be rigorously reflected on the product environmental label creating in this way a circle of continuous improvement and ideally a progress towards more sustainable practices in food industry.
Figure 6. Interaction of key factors of environmental labelling (Tzilivakis et al., 2012:
55).
Moreover, this theory is also verified by Thidell (2009), who proposed a model for the dynamic cause and effect chain created by ecolabelling showed in Figure 7. Defined as dynamic loop of continuous improvement, Thidell (2009) also believe that eco labelled products available in the stores can attract consumers, which after buying green products will send a “signal” to producers. The producers in turn will take actions to fulfil the new demand in the market by re-design and innovate the offers of labelled products. This endless loop should ultimately satisfy the primary goal of eco labelling schemes, namely
reduced environmental impact from production and consumption of products. (Thidell 2009)
Figure 7. Dynamic loop created by eco labels (Thidell, 2009: 33)
However, consumers are not all the same and the level of awareness and involvement in eco-friendly choices varies between people. Green consumers are typically willing to pay a premium price for their products, however drawing general simplified assumptions about consumers of organic products, underestimate the complexity of their behaviour.
Consumers are not born with a fixed mindset, but their behaviour is influenced by economic, cultural, political and social factors in the society (Kotler, Keller, Brady, Goodman and Hansen, 2012: 244-260). For this reason, is hard to identify a stable market segment of green consumers and the impact of eco labelled products cannot be always predicted. (Pedersen & Neergaard 2006)
2.2 Sustainable food consumption
Food consumption is part of human’s everyday activities and plays also an important role on environmental sustainability. According to the European Environmental Agency (2005) it was estimated that roughly one third of each household impact on the environment is linked with food and beverage consumption and the number is forecasted
to increase in the near future. The impact of food consumption relates to several factors, among which the amount of meat consumed in the household, the production technique, namely conventional or organic system and whether the food is locally sourced or need extensive transportation to reach the retailing shops. As suggested by Thøgersen, (2010) research shows how improving food consumption will overall increase consumers sustainability, and one of the most effective way to do that is indeed by purchasing more organically produced food rather than conventional products. (Thøgersen, 2010) The perception of eco labels on food products and the influence on consumer buying behaviour in this study will be used to analyse the effectiveness of organic labels as a tool of information and motivator for a more sustainable consumption.
2.2.1. Organic farming in Europe
The European union define organic farming as “sustainable agricultural system” which aims to respect the environment and the animal welfare by adopting the best practices, considering the preservation of natural resources and high standards for animal treatment.
Apart from farming activities the organic production of food incorporates all the activities from the supply of raw materials, the processes, the distribution channels until the information provided to consumers. (European Parliament, 2018)
Organic farming relies on solid and ethical principles that aim at minimizing the impact of humans on the environment whilst enabling the agricultural system to operate causing the least damage on the planet. Organic farming in Europe means that no chemical, pesticides or artificial fertilizer are being used on the crops but only natural fertilizer that can be locally sourced. Organic farming also put very strict limitations on the use of antibiotics for livestock, which is limited only to the necessary treatment. Furthermore, organic farmers are committed to raise animals in an open-air and cage free environment.
Another pillar of organic farming in EU is the banishment of all kind of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and utilize a wide crop rotation in order to enable an efficient use of resources. (European Parliament, 2018)
In the past decade, Europe has seen a stunning increase of the organic farmland with a starting point of 5.6 million hectares in 2002 until 11.9 million in 2016. On top of the list for countries with the most organic cultivated land in Europe, is Spain, with two million of hectares of organic lands, followed by Italy and France with respectively 1.8 and 1.5 million hectares of cultivated lands. In 2016 Italy had 14% of organic cultivated land and Finland reached 10.5 % in the same year. With almost fourteen millions of hectares of land cultivated according to organic rules, Europe is almost leading the ranking for the continent with the most organic farmland in the world. (European Parliament, 2018) The organic market overall has kept growing continuously with a value worth over 33 billion of euro, an increment of 47.7% comparing to 2012 where the organic market sales were closer to 20 million. The attitudinal change towards organic food has been a result of improved governmental campaigns combined with consumers increased interest in more sustainable solutions. Although the amount of organic land is growing, it still represents only 7% of the total cultivable area. (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, 2016)
In Finland the organic production is controlled by Evira, the Finnish food safety authority which guarantees high standards of quality for organic food. In 2017 Finland had almost 260 000 hectares of organically cultivated land which shows an increase of 8% in comparison to the previous year. The increased demand of organic food has led to an overall growth of the organically cultivated areas with an estimation of 4000 certified organic farms. Finland is also known worldwide for its wild berries’ cultivation and it is calculated that the organic picking area reach almost 9 million of hectares. (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, 2016). In comparison to the other Nordic countries, Finland is falling behind for organic cultivated lands and thus the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has published a strategy to be reached by 2020, based on the enlargement of organic lands up to 20% of the total. The growth should be supported by financial support and training for the farmers. (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, 2016)
In Italy, the organic production is controlled and certified by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry which in turn has empowered national association such as FederBio and
AssoBío to regulate the national organic production and certification. In Italy the increased demand of organic products has pushed the production of organic food and among the most cultivated crops there are vegetables, cereal, grapes and oil. (Bio report, 2017-2018) The Italian organic sector is increasing uninterruptedly since the early 2007, in line with the trend of the other European countries. According to the Bio report published by RRN, in 2017 and 2018 not only the demand of organic product has increased but it was also counterbalanced by the increased offer of organic products, due to the extension of the organic cultivated lands. An important change was also reported on the geographical distribution of the land, which in 2015 was mostly located in the northern and central part of Italy, whereas in the biennium 2017-2018 has seen a relocation to the southern regions. (Bio report, 2017-2018)
2.2.2. Organic consumption in Finland
Finnish consumers have increased year after year the number of organic products in their daily diet, mostly due to the awareness of the benefits associated with organic food. This has led to an overall increase in the organic food industry and market in Finland with estimated 336 million of euro spent on organic groceries in 2018. The Finnish organic food association, hereafter called Pro Luomu, has calculated that this correspond to an increase of 10% of organic sales comparing to 2017 and the continuous growth show how Finnish consumers are increasingly getting aware and interested in organic products. (Pro Luomu, 2018)
Pro Luomu has also calculated an overall increase in sales and consumption of organic food in the time frame 2010-2018 of over 50% as reported in Figure 8. The exponential boost has also been supported by the enlargement of the supply and range of products available in stores. Indeed, new products groups where organic alternatives were not available before, has helped the growth in the market. This support the “positive circle”
concept, according to which the increased interest in organic products has encouraged the food industry to create and launch new organic products leading to growth in sales. Thus, the more organic products available, the more consumers will be attracted by them and generating more sales. (Pro Luomu, 2018)
Figure 8. Organic sales in Finland 2011 - 2018 (Pro Luomu Annual statistics, 2018) Although numbers show that the market share of organic products still remains below 3%
of the total, there is still a potential growth in the future according to Pro Luomu, which believes the number could be easily tripled if there is enough supply of organic products.
Furthermore, as stated by the executive director of Pro Luomu, Maria-Riitta Kottila the organic market is becoming of interest for the young consumers because of the increased environmental concerns and animal welfare, so that the demand of organic food is most likely to grow in the future. (Pro Luomu, 2018)
In 2018, Pro Luomu has calculated that the top selling organic products on the Finnish market were eggs, bananas and vegetal oils, but also root vegetable, fresh milk, flour and tea. Product categories such as juices, brewery products, frozen food and cheeses have had the biggest growth perceptually, being these new organic products on the market.
Popular categories such as coffee, tea, dairies and eggs also had a clear growth, with eggs being the most popular organic food sold in Finland. The market share of organic eggs has reached in 2018 18% of the whole supply. On the other hand, organic bakery food, sugar and meat products have decreased their sales comparing to the previous year. (Pro Luomu, 2018)
Overall, green consumerism is steadily growing among the Finnish market and a recent study carried out in 2017 shows that one million Finnish consumers buy at least one
organic product per week with a result of 10% increase among regular organic consumers in the frame 2010-2017. The survey has also highlighted the reasons for Finns to buy organics, which are mostly related to higher quality, purity and safety of food.
Sustainability, taste and health were also mentioned as reasons for buying organic food.
(Pro Luomu, 2018)
2.2.3. Organic consumption in Italy
In 2018, sales of organic food in Italy has grown again with an uninterrupted trend since 2008. According to the Nielsen report, in 2018 six out of ten Italian consumers have bought at least one organic food with the most sold being eggs, bread, jam, milk and dairies, olive oil, pasta, fresh vegetable and fruits. The overall sales of organic products in Italy combined with the exports, has led to 5 billion euros revenues, with an increment of 10,5 % in the first quarter of 2018 comparing to the same period in 2017. (Impresa, 2019)
According to the data in Nielsen report, one on two Italian consumers buy at least one organic product per week, with a bigger percentage if in the family there are children or vegetarian members. Similarly to the Finnish industry, the boom of organic sales has created opportunities for companies that have started launching entire brand and products lines of green products. Many retailers are starting to reserve more space on the shelves for organic food and in 2017 in Italy there are about 1500 stores specialized in sales of organic products. (Impresa, 2019)
As shown in Figure 9, in Italy the share of organic food on the total was 3.4 percent in 2017, with peaks in organic fruits and vegetables, respectively 5.1 and 4.2 percent of the total sales. As reported from AssoBío association in 2017, 23 out of 100 new products introduced in the market were from organic agriculture. (Assobio.it, 2019)
Figure 9. Organic sales in Italy 2000 - 2016 (AssoBío, 2019)
For Italian consumers buying and consuming biological food is becoming a real lifestyle rooted mostly on health and safety reasons but also on the increased awareness of food quality and sustainable consumption. According to the statistics from FederBio and IFOAM every 100 euros spent on grocery, 12 are for biological products and the average monthly expense for organic product is 44 euro per capita. Furthermore, the forecasts for organic sales see this amount doubling in 15 years. (FederBio, 2019; IFOAM bio, 2019)
3. CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTION AND BEHAVIOUR
In this chapter, the focus is to review the factors that affect consumer’s perception and behaviour towards organic labels. At first, the chapter discusses about the influence that eco labels have on consumers’ behaviour and how they can be effective tools for a sustainable change. Then, a review of the selected influencing factors is carried out together with the formulation of hypotheses. Eventually the chapter closes with a summary of the literature review.
3.1. The influence of eco labels on consumers’ behaviour
As per definition, a “green consumer” has interest in the environmental qualities of products and services and buys products that fulfil his/her point of view on environmental standards. Indeed, the main functionality of eco labels is to minimize the information asymmetry amid the producer of organic products and the final consumer by giving them relevant and trustworthy information regarding the environmental performance and benefits of the product in comparison to a conventional one. According to Delmas (2010), the information asymmetry between these two economic agents is greater because organic food is a “credence food” as the consumer cannot verify the environmental claims during the moment of purchase but can only trust the information provided. Thus, eco label should provide adequate and understandable information in order to diminish the gap between producer and consumer. (Delmas, 2010)
Food labels are an important source of information for consumers at the point of purchase because they provide relevant information about the products’ quality. In the same way eco labels are a logo that, if understood correctly, will be received by the consumer and in turn translated into a positive or negative green behaviour. As such, eco labels has a direct influence on consumer’s purchase decision and it is important that the information is delivered in a clear way. (D’Souza et al., 2006)
As an outcome of this influence on purchasing decision, the improvement in quality of the information provided through labels could also improve the attitude of consumer towards eco products. As mentioned by Leire et al., (2005) the effectiveness of eco labels can be analysed by how well the label fulfils its goal as an information instrument. Indeed, there are specific steps to measure the effectiveness of environmental labelling schemes and these are: consumer awareness, consumer acceptance and consumer behaviour change. Consumer awareness refers to an individual overall awareness of labelling schemes and their specific symbols. Consumer acceptance refers to the credibility of the information and the knowledge of the product’s environmental attribute. More in depth, the acceptance underlines the consumer’s understanding of the products, the connection between sustainability issues and product choice and what actions can be taken in response to the information. Lastly, consumer behaviour change entails the readiness of consumer in changing their purchasing habits and opt for environmentally friendly products. (Leire et al., 2005)
Figure 10. Effectiveness of Labelling Scheme. (Leire et al., 2005)
3.2.Factors affecting consumers’ perception of eco labels.
The perception of an object, in a generic term, is related to the biological aspect of perceiving something, or more in details, perception encompass the senses that any human applies in gathering relevant information about an object such as vision, taste, hearing touch and smell (Taufique et al.,2014). When talking about consumer behaviour, the role of perception does not only include the biological perspective but is rather a more
